Improvement in toilet-combs



NiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISRAEL H. SOUTHVVORTH, OF ESSEX, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOILET-COMES.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, ISRAEL H. SOUTH- WORTH, of Essex, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvementin Toilet-Combs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of my improved comb secured in its handle; Fig. 2, an enlarged sec tion on the line m x of Fig. l; Fig. 3, aview of the ivory block from which the two pieces forming the comb are cut. Fig. 4 represents a broken comb, which may be cut on the line yy to obtain the perfect half to be matched and secured in the handle, and Fig. 5 shows the two perfect halves detached.

Combs of the description shown in Fig. 4, having teeth on opposite sides, have usually been made from one piece of stock, and have sometimes been furnished with a handle forming one solid piece; but the amount of stock thus consumed rendered them very expensive and in the process of manufacturing, the teeth of one side were frequently broken.

To economize stock and to utilize these broken combs, two perfect halves of combs have been matched and firmly riveted between narrow slips placed on opposite sides of the comb.

My invention consists in uniting, by means of ahandle, matched pieces of comb which are cut from stock which is too thin and narrow to admit ot' a whole comb bein gout there from, or by uniting separate pieces obtained by using the uninjured portions of damaged combs'e thus producing a strong and durable toilet-comb with a handle at much less cost than a whole comb without a handle, and possessing as neat a finish as any comb heretofore made.

To enable others skilled in the art'to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

1n the said drawings, a a are half-combs made from pieces cut'from the ivory block A, (see Fig. 3,) or from broken combs B, one ot which is seen in Fig.'4. These pieces a a are fitted into a recess or opening through the handle b, and they are rmly secured to it by means ofthe rivets c c, by which arrangement the comb is strenghtened and prevented from warping, while the handle enables one to use it without wetting or soiling the hand.

In the construction of my improved comb I use ivory, vulcanized rubber, horn, wood, or any other material suited for the purpose.

Where the stock is very expensive-as, for instance, ivory-the refuse block has heretofore been of but little value in manufacturing combs, and this stock, which now costs about three dollars per pound, can be brought for about one dollar per pound after the whole pieces are cut from it. In the process of making the whole comb, nearly sixteen per cent. of them are broken or otherwise damaged, so as to make them unsalable as perfectcombs. These broken combs I buy ata 'considerable discount, and the perfect portions, being cut oft', as shown in Fig. 5, are united and secured in a handle, as previously described, thus enablin g me to produce a good comb at a very small cost. 5

I am aware that combs have been made ot' two halves matched and riveted together between narrow slips placed on opposite sides ot the comb. rlhis I do not claim 5 but What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent as an improvement in the manufacture of toilet-combs, is

A comb composed of pieces at c matched and secured in a handle, b, substantially in the manner herein described.

Witnesses: I. H. SOUTHWORTH.

NW. STEARNs, l?. E. TEscEEMAcHER.. 

